Why this initiative?

Welcome to MAP ME HAPPY - Spread some positive urban experience, one place at a time!

MAP ME HAPPY is all about happy urbanism and improving our public space

LIVING TOGETHERWe all have different spatial routines, backgrounds and moods and we all see and experience our public places differently. And once every while, while we are out in the city, we come across something so joyful, comfortable or simply fun, that it gives the whole place a better experience. So why not share these moments?

FROM POSITIVE PLACE TO POSITIVE SPACEMapping our positive experiences can change the way we collectively see and appreciate our city! It is very contagious to know what makes you and others happy in places. You’ll soon start seeing places through new eyes and start seeing positive features in other places.

RIGHT TO THE CITYA more positive imagination of space can have very real effects! Only if we know what makes one place better than others, do we know what to keep, what we need more of and where. It is then an easy step to compare what is planned by your government to what is publicly desired. The bigger your participation, the more Map Me Happy becomes an instrument that city planners cannot ignore. In the end, public places can only exist when they are actively used and when there is a real need for it.

With Map Me Happy you can re-image, diversify, open-up, shape and reclaim the public space you want to have with positive solutions.

For whom?

Map Me Happy is for the explorer, the local, the groupie, the loner, the pedestrians, the cyclist, the planner and the impulsive. It is for the little initiatives and against the big capital.

What if I’m not much of a mapper?

No problem! A major aim of Map Me Happy is to help you see your city through the eyes of others. Use the website for original excursions or look up the place you have a connection with and leave a reaction on the place-info-card. Give your opinion on an idea for improving a place. You might meet someone interesting. We do kindly ask you to refrain from mapping places from inside your home. We look for out-in-the-world public experiences.

What to map and what do not map?

Simply map any feature of a public place that gives you a positive experience.

THINGS TO MAP:

give you energy

are accessible for everyone

make you laugh – out-loud or simply a harder breathing through the nose

make you think “Faith in humanity restored!” are the perfect niche for your outdoor activities

inspire

give you idea’s that could improve other places

you would bring your friends, family or crush to

CONCRETELY, YOU CAN MAP:

physical things such as a bicycle lane, a flower pot, a street art, a playground, a rooftop, etc.

invisible things such as feelings of belonging, values you cherish, things you identify with, feeling accepted or at peace, etc.

acts by people that happened in that place, such as an act of kindness

FOR THE SPATIAL PLANNERS:

identify places with ‘positive potential’ and use your imagination for how this could be improved

link positive practises found in one place to another place, so it become useful for the whole community

How to map?

open mapmehappy.com on your mobile phone, tablet or laptop browser (important: at that moment to be at this city place, you would like to Pin)

tap the ‘MAP HERE’ button

answer a few questions, share a picture or sound sample, and off you go!

When to map?

Whenever you find yourself in a public place and come across something positive

When you see a QR-code on one of our posters

Who we are?

Map Me Happy is what you’d expect when you blend the interests of geographers, urban planners and architects. We share a fascination for the built environment (‘what is physically there’), the social interactions it provokes (‘what people do in places’) and the invisible yet powerful imaginations of space (mental maps).

INITIATIVE TAKERS

Anastasiya Ponomaryova (CANactions, UA) is an architect and urbanist interested in the cultural aspect of city-experience and enabling citizens to re-gain and shape the public space they wish to have.

Petronela Bordeianu (European Geography Association, RO) is a geographer, a DOer in urban and environmental initiatives and an expert in managing cross-border educational events.

Niels Grootjans (European Geography Association, NL) is a geographer and cultural manager with a keen eye for interactive mapping tools that use geo-data and offer new ways of city participation.

Why map only positive experience?

In many cities a growing trend of Unhappy Urbanism (Cybrywski) can be observed: aggressive lifestyles, agitated citizens and a drastic reduction of truly public spaces: “Large parks and squares have become targets of private enterprises, sidewalks and pedestrian areas have been blocked by unsystematic constructions and turned into informal parking areas (Zazanashvili)”.

In such cities, we believe that a mapping of negative experiences, granted it would be a more direct way for expressing people's urban needs, does not likely lead to the activation, participation and proposing of innovative urban alternatives. Sure, expressing your frustration is satisfying. That’s why we honk our car. Yet, most of the time you achieve little more than more honking. In a different way, a focus on the negative elements in your city - like holes in the street or litter - can help you develop an eye for seeing these things all over the city. Where we by no means want to say that shaming-and-blaming, social resistance and apps like FixMyStreet aren’t important, the aim of Map Me Happy is rather to help you develop an eye for the best positive practises found around the city. This might help you come with alternatives for negative places. You could suggest low-cost 'quick fixes' or even implement them with your neighbors. In the end, real public space can only exist when you actively use them. It is up to you to say what public space you want. Or do you think the government knows it better? And what if nothing changes? No man overboard because what you gained is that now you know where to go and look to surround yourself with the city’s bright side! Trust us, it's the more fun way!

Map Me Happy in your city?

Are you looking for an innovative and interactive way to engage your community?Do you want to know what citizens, visitors, tourist, newcomers or others think about places?Do you wish to present your project results and get lots of exposure?Our team gladly thinks with you on how you can use a participatory mapping methodology that fits your needs.We offer our methodology, our international team and our toolkit.For an example, see our community mapping activities in Kyiv.

Contact us before you get mapping.

Support our project

We are open to share our experience and work with organizations, communities and experts that offer new ways of city exploration and planning through the use of geo-ICT.